A History of Photography

DISPLAY: The Photographs Gallery draws upon the V&A’s internationally renowned collection and chronicles the history of photography from the 1840s up to the 1970s.

In 1852, the V&A became the first museum to collect photographs and in 1858, the first to hold a photography exhibition. The Gallery showcases some of the most technically brilliant and artistically accomplished photographs in the history of the medium. This re-hang of the permanent display shows works by key figures of photographic history including a selection of Eugène Atget’s views of ‘Old Paris’ and significant works by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Man Ray, Alfred Stieglitz, Irving Penn and Bernd and Hilla Becher.

1 October 2012 - 5 January 2014, 10.00-17.30

Displays complement our permanent collections, there are many free temporary displays around the V&A. They range in size from a single case to a room.